Mey-Yii's Grandma is on a gambling binge, so for the last several days she has been left in our care and sleeping at our place.
Eating Cardamom In The Cardamoms ๐
ย ย ย Today while I was in town working in the Piaggio Ape Hive mobile office, my wife saw that our neighbors were selling cardamom shoots for $15 a kilo. That is really expensive for Cambodia, but we live here in the Cardamom Mountains, so we might as well take an opportunity to eat cardamom while living here. We never even knew parts of the plant were edible beyond the fragrant seeds, but I can see why it's not a popular food, these things taste like Tiger Balm, very bizarre.
Mey-Yii & Monkey-B Duo ๐ฏโโ๏ธ
ย ย ย Now that Srey-Yuu is a teenager, she and Monkey-B have different interests and aren't the easy playmates they were at younger ages. Luckily Mey-Yii and Monkey-B are closer in age and have become close friends and playmates. What was meant to be a one-night sleepover has turned into Mey-Yii temporarily living with us.
ย ย ย Her Grandma has communicated very little with us, but told us the casino in town is giving away a motorcycle this week, so she's been on a bender, apparently gambling hard and trying to win the motorcycle. I can only imagine the level of alienation Mey-Yii feels at this time, her Grandma already has a brand new motorcycle and a reliable pickup truck despite not being able to see well and drive beyond the village by herself.
ย ย ย The overwhelming sentiment of the village is that we are naive and that Mey-Yii is a bad girl and a lost cause, but the people making such claims have households full of infidelity, addiction, wayward children, and other forms of social decay. Most of all we just want Mey-Yii to have the same opportunities the other children in the village have, and she's far too young to be responsible for the conditions she is surrounded by.
The Struggle Is Real ๐
ย ย ย While in the bathroom taking a far too cold bucket shower and trying to catch my breath in between girlish shrieks, I saw this tiny little guy on the wall trying to survive against the odds. I couldn't believe how tiny it was, barely a fingernail, and yet all alone bravely confronting life's challenges head-on.
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telling stories about that little girl named mey-yii her life is quite heartbreaking, because you have often told me about this girl at least we know how her life is now, has a cruel grandmother, who is drunk on gambling, if you tell me about this my blood rises, right -really grandma has no heart.. sorry if the words are a little harsh,,,
very rarely do we even find such a person, who has the heart to waste the life of a grandson...
actually a small child needs guidance and support from us as parents or from a grandmother a strong encouragement for the continuation of his life in the future, but the witch actually wastes her grandson just like that,, only gambling is what she prioritizes,, , once again I apologize if my words are a little harsh,,,,
let's leave the matter if we discuss it any longer my blood is getting stronger... thinking about that heartless grandmother....
oh yeah in the last picture I saw a small snail walking,, its size is very small if I'm not mistaken it's about the size of a corn kernel,
but if you take a picture using a macro lens, the beauty of the little snail will come out, and the picture looks more stunning,, if you take a picture of the little snail using a macro everyone will be amazed to see the macro picture that you present... that that's all and thank you...
My blood boils at times too when I think about Mey-Yii's homelife, but it's such a delicate situation because we are the new people in the village, and everyone else has been for many years. All the locals have told us that we're wasting our time with Mey-Yii, but I tell them they're wasting their time at the casino ๐.
Even today we tried to have a talk with Mey-Yii about respect and and also to let her know we care for her very much. It's clear she isn't able to listen for more than few seconds because nobody has ever sit and talke with her for several minutes. This child needs a lot of social and emotional healing, and even though my family has our own share of problems, I hope Mey-Yii's time spent with us provides her with a more positive and brighter future.
The snail was so small, I am lucky to not have splashed it with water while showering, it would've surely killed the little thing. Someday I will have a macro lens bro, I have seen a few people in Cambodia use macro lenses that clamp on the exterior of the phone, is that what you use?
that's very true, it turns out that you've seen people in Cambodia using a macro lens, if we use a macro lens it's clear we will clamp the lens in the Smartphone section, of course it's located in the smartphone camera section, if you already have the macro lens, Of course our community will be more exciting, because the community leaders have used a macro lens and shared macro pictures, of course this will be a tough challenge for me to beat you hehehe..
What's even more exciting is that there is a challenge about macro images once a month, what we show is of course the types of insects that we take pictures of using a macro lens will definitely be more exciting, hopefully this will work out as we wished,,
I will buy one some day, I promise. The next time we visit the capital in a few months might be a good to some exploring and shopping. I need to repair my webcam as well.
I don't know what to say about the suffering of life experienced by a poor little girl Mey-Yii, after her own biological mother left her because she preferred to live with other men and then her grandmother also chose alcohol and gambling as her life partner over Mey -Yii his own grandson. I thought this only happened in movies, but it turns out I was wrong ๐ฉ
Thank goodness Mey-Yii has a kind neighbor like your family @justinparke, at least Mey-Yii has a place to share stories when she is sad. He can also get good treatment from you and your children as long as he can avoid bad association with neighbors who have the same habits as his grandmother in the surrounding environment. But more than that, thank God since I followed the reviews in some of your previous posts, you and your family have treated Mey-Yii very well, even enrolled her in school ๐๐
Hoping to win and get a motorbike or car from a gambling game is something that is very, very impossible ๐คฃ
Have a nice day my best friend and also my brother justin ๐
I think many life stories in Cambodia are more tragic and outrageous than fictional movies. I think because we are in such an isolated area and because the residents of this village are mostly uneducated, it's a perfect storm for life's problems.
The casino causes so much social decay, I wish it didn't exist, but it's usually the Prime Minister's cronies that own and operate these things. Ultimately though the responsibility lies with the individual and a lack of self-control, and I think that is what this village needs more than anything, just a little self-control.
Thank you for the comments brother, I pray and hope Mey-Yii has a bright future.
hello MR @justinparke may you always be given health and happiness in carrying out your activities and hobbies,
I think trying something for the first time is always an adrenaline rush and curiosity before we try it.
Although the taste of cardamom is strange, in fact cardamom also has health benefits, and can also be used as an additional flavoring ingredient for certain dishes.
childhood friends we will always remember forever, sometimes we separate after we grow up, we have chosen our respective paths but sometimes we still miss our childhood with him,
I think they are very close. Heppy enjoys time together while rowing a bicycle with a cool village atmosphere in my opinion.
I have used cardamom seeds in recipes for many years, but I never knew we could eat the plant too. Apparently it is an acquired taste, even our neighbors made a dish, and only the Grandma could eat. It is so strange to eat something similar to bamboo shoots but that tastes like a jar of Tiger Balm/Aktiv Balm.
I am happy to see Mey-Yii have wholesome fun with our family, and I pray every day she has a brighter future because of her time with us.
Hi hi.. Justin.. it's great to see Mei Yii and Monkey B being able to socialize.. haha.. first time I've heard of Cardamoms.. I had to look up on mr google to find out what it was.. Never seen them before here in Malaysia. It's a pity for Mei Yii that her grandma spends the time gambling..
In our case the Cardamom(s) are a location and a spice ๐. In Malaysia, I'm sure some Malay-Indian dishes make use of cardamom seeds with green football-shaped shells. I had only ever seen green and black cardamom seeds in Indian food before I came here, and Cambodia has its own unique species, a round tan/white colored shell, and a very different flavor compared to the Indian ones.
Even though I cook with it often, I always assumed cardamom seeds came from a big tree of some kind. I was so wrong, they are small plants, and even crazier the plant is edible too, but not an enjoyable experience, 1 out of 5 stars for "bamboo shoots that taste like Tiger Balm." ๐
Mey-Yii is back at our place now a few nights already, her Grandma seems to be shirking responsibility now that we watch her. What used to be mostly card-playing at home has turned into 4 and 5 day casino benders.
Hi hi... Justin.. hi hi..
OOO.. maybe.. in the curry.. I guess.. it's not long that Mei Yii would want to be integrated into your family. hehee.. It's great to take care of little ones.. But why would she need that fortune? hahah..
Mey-Yii would be a big effort if we fully took her in. She's definitely got some troubles and has been raised without any guidance or even in-depth conversations. Something I've learned this week is that her attentions span is less than 10 seconds.
A little bit of it is because she is hyperactive from all the energy drinks she buys at school with her Grandma's money, but mostly I think it is because she's never had anyone sit down and have a conversation with her. She's used to simple and short interactions, so it will be awhile before we can have a real chat with her.
Mey-Yii is so happy staying our house and play with Sakana. I hope she will be a good person and good future. These are the things I want from her, and if there is a day, I would be very happy for this poor girl.
It would be really cool to see her speaking English one day too, but most of all I want her to have a bright future just like you.
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